« Ind. Gov't. - Still more on: Indiana, Land of Lincoln | Main | Ind. Law - "DNA databases help police solve cold cases" »

Wednesday, June 11, 2008

Ind. Courts - Even more on "Landowner calls move by pipeline company as intimidation"

Updating this June 8th ILB entry, two stories by Jason Thomas of the Indianapolis Star.

"Pipeline builder sues land owners" is the headline to today's story, which begins:

Hoosier landowners yet to reach an agreement with the company building a multistate natural gas pipeline could end up in a federal courtroom.

Rockies Express filed a condemnation lawsuit in U.S. District Court on Friday against the owners of 84 parcels in the path of Rockies Express-East, a 639-mile pipeline stretching from Missouri to Ohio. Its route includes nine Indiana counties.

The pipeline company is seeking a permanent 50-foot right-of-way easement along each parcel and a temporary easement during construction totaling 75 feet, under the authority of the Natural Gas Act.

In the filing, lawyers for the Houston-based pipeline argued Rockies Express "has made reasonable written offers . . . before instituting this action, but the named defendants have not come to an agreement with REX, or failed to respond."

The lawsuit includes landowners from Hendricks, Johnson, Morgan and Shelby counties in the Indianapolis metro area.

If landowners cannot reach an agreement with the pipeline company, then a federal judge will determine the fair market value of the land in dispute.

In a story June 4th, Thomas reported:
A multistate pipeline that will stretch through nine Indiana counties has cleared another hurdle toward final federal approval.

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission on Friday authorized the construction of Rockies Express-East, a 639-mile project that would carry natural gas from Missouri to Ohio.

The project is the final leg of a more than 1,600-mile pipeline that begins in Colorado and ends in Monroe County, Ohio. * * *

But there still is work remaining.

Rockies Express must submit an implementation plan on 147 mitigation measures -- mostly environmental concerns -- attached to the project, which Fore said likely would be done this week.

Commission staff must then approve the plan, which will be the final step before construction.

Posted by Marcia Oddi on June 11, 2008 08:32 AM
Posted to Indiana Courts